Ten Years
by d-christen
Summary: "Why don't you give this to me in ten years?" "Okay, I'll wait." Percabeth, AU, OOC. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

They are supposed to be OOC! They're AU for crying out loud. :) I got this idea from LGMH. I thought it was a really sweet idea for a Percabeth fanfic, so I decided to give it a shot! It sounds really stupid and corny at times, but give me a break, I haven't written in months. Enjoy!

* * *

_February 14, 1999_

She looked up at her classmates, her lower lip jutting out in a slight pout. She stared at the girls on the swing set. They all had beautiful, red roses tucked neatly behind their ears, which had, of course, been given to them by their surprise sweethearts. They were laughing, laughing like they were having the time of their lives, as their "dates" stood behind and pushed them gently.

Every once in a while, when the girl would swing back, a boy would grab firm hold of the swing and peck her quickly on the cheek. The girl would giggle, and the boy would let go of her, letting her swing again, with something else to smile about. A nearby witness would think it would be great to perform that action to whoever he was pushing, and would imitate the gesture. The girls would then exchange happy looks, knowing that there was nothing better in the world than having found love at the age of six.

She blinked, desiring to look away, but knowing that she couldn't, for it was such a lovely sight. She stared, her heart desperately wishing that she was one of those girls on the swings, but her mind rightly knowing that that wish was illogical.

Of course, between the two, her mind was right. Her mind was always right. Her mind was mainly the reason why she wasn't one of those girls on the swings.

Annabeth Chase was brilliant. Her father had always told her that she would be top of the class, and, yes, this was true. She would always be the only one to get the questions asked answered correctly in class. She would always be the only one to get continuous A's on her tests. She would always be the only one to get straight above average grades on her report card. Because of this, she was avoided. Boys thought she was a freak; girls thought she was showing off to get the teachers' attentions. This, of course, was perfectly untrue, but the students did not think so.

Yesterday, when Mrs. Evans announced that the boys would have to choose a girl for their Valentine the following day, Annabeth already knew that she wouldn't receive a rose. She realized, the next day, that she, of course, was right once again. Nobody had chosen her for their Valentine; nobody had even bothered to wish her a happy Valentine's day.

So here Annabeth was, sitting cross-legged in the grass, alone. And there all of the other children were, sitting on the swings and being pushed by their dates, and vice-versa.

She looked down at the dandelion she was holding in her hands while laughter echoed in her ears. How wonderful it would be to be a dandelion, she thought. She blew softly on it, and a few dandelion seeds flew away in the breeze. It would be perfect if she could just fly away, leave the place she was currently in behind, live another life somewhere else. If only she was a dandelion.

She set the fragile dandelion back on the grass, and jumped a little. There, instead of just grass, were two sneakers. She looked up.

Percy Jackson had always been a quiet kid. Jet-black hair and startlingly green eyes. His mother worked at Sweet on America, and, though Annabeth had never met her, she knew that Percy's mother was sweeter than the candy she sold. Percy had a good heart. He would always be seen lending out pencils to his fellow classmates who were in need, when he didn't even have one himself. Annabeth had never gathered up the courage to talk to him, but she knew that she had always wanted to be his friend from day one of kindergarten.

He sat down across from her. She noticed that he didn't look like he'd been pushing girls on swings all day.

"Hi," he said, giving Annabeth a little smile.

"Hello."

It was only after a few moments that she noticed Percy's arms were behind his back. She wondered why, but didn't press it.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he said quietly, an innocent look in his eyes.

"Thank you, same to you," Annabeth replied.

The two kept quiet, nothing else being shared between them besides eye contact.

"Do you love anyone?" Percy asked, which caught Annabeth off guard.

She nodded. "I love my daddy."

Percy smiled. "I love my mommy."

Silence.

Of course, Percy was building up the suspense. Annabeth knew this.

And because she knew this, what Percy did was inevitable. He pulled the object quickly out from behind his back and placed it in Annabeth's lap. Sure, Annabeth knew that Percy was hiding something, but what she didn't expect was the stuffed toy that was lying in her lap.

It was a teddy bear. It was a normal, cute, cuddly, brown teddybear. The one thing that stood out about the stuffed animal was what the bear was holding. It was a big, red heart, with white letters sewn onto it, spelling out _BE MINE_.

"This is for me?" She asked, her gray eyes catching those green ones. Was she dreaming or what?

She half-expected her father's words to come out of Percy's mouth ("_Wake up, Annabeth!_"). Instead, Percy nodded, his cheeks a bright pink.

But then she remembered the promise she had made. School always came first, that was what her daddy told her. She had crossed her heart and hoped to die if she broke that promise.

Yes, she wanted a sweetheart at this age, but while she was envying her classmates, she was not thinking at all about the promise she had made herself and her father. It was only now that she remembered it, when Percy had given her the gift.

"Percy?" she asked, her lower lip sticking out again in sadness.

He nodded, a little expectant.

"Why don't you give this to me in ten years?" she asked.

She knew what he was going to say. She knew that he was going to refuse. He would think that she was rejecting him, but she really wasn't. He, of course, would never give this teddy bear to her again. It was a one-time opportunity, but Annabeth was Annabeth, and she always kept her promises.

Instead of hearing "no" like she expected, Percy's words surprised her.

"Okay, I'll wait."

* * *

_February 14, 2009_

She wrote in her notebook, her writing illegible due to her hands tiring. She shivered. The library was about forty-five degrees, and she was not wearing a jacket. I can finish this tomorrow, she thought to herself. She looked up at the clock. It was eleven P.M. She had better get going.

She stood up from the library chair when something across the room caught her eye. A flash of bright red.

She narrowed her eyes and swallowed nervously. Who could it be? Even the librarian had gone to sleep. She approached the bookshelf, her belongings still on the library chair she was previously sitting on.

There, sitting on the shelf level with her head, was a teddy bear. It was old-looking, and looked as if it had just been cleared of layers of dust. She turned around, thinking that it had completely wasted her time, but then a tug in her gut made her retract. She had a feeling that she had seen this before. The question was, where had she?

She reached up and took the bear off the shelf. It felt plushy, even though it looked ancient.

She raised an eyebrow curiously at it. She had not seen this little thing a few hours previously. Who could have placed it on this shelf? Everyone she knew (though she had no friends) was at the Valentine's Ball. There was nobody else on campus. She held the bear tightly in her hands, as if it were the signal for someone to pop up and laugh at her curiosity.

And then a sound.

A sound of crumpling paper.

She cocked her head to the side, getting very curious. What had made that sound?

She turned the bear over. There was a note taped to the back of it.

She tore it off.

Her heart stopped.

_It's been ten years,_

_and I still love you._

_Will you be mine now?  
_

_-Percy_


End file.
